you to the floor.” Bryce teased her as well as her brothers did at family gatherings.
“There wasn’t anything to see since I was eating the floor.” She wasn’t about to admit that she’d been too aware of Mitch’s hard shape on top of hers.
There was a quick rap on the door frame.
“There she is, our brightest high school student. Tell me, Nika, have you tried out for the cheerleading squad yet?” Rio Ortego, another SVPD detective, leaned his head into Bryce’s tiny office.
“Screw you, Ortego.”
Rio laughed at her quick response.
“Is there a problem, officers?”
Rio straightened, as did Nika and Bryce. Chief of Police Colt Todd entered the space, his fit body and youthful good looks belying the twenty or more years he had on all of them.
“No, sir.” They spoke in unison, which made Chief Todd grin. His brows rose as he took in Nika’s civilian, teenaged appearance. “How goes it?”
“Fine, sir.”
“Officer Pasczenko was just telling me how hard she’s crushing on her new chemistry teacher, sir.”
Nika wanted to reach over the desk and give Bryce a quick sharp jab to the ribs. She loved her brothers-and sisters-in-arms but, just like a biological family, they had their days.
“Campbell, is that all you have to worry about, Nika’s love life? I guess that means you’ve figured out how we’ll take down the True Believers?” Colt Todd had a stern expression on his face and Nika almost felt sorry for Bryce. Almost.
“Actually, sir, Nika’s our best bet to find out who the families are that are most involved with the cult to date. Forensics yielded that the blood was indeed pig’s, and we’re taking samples from a couple of local butchers. We might get it down to the actual farm by the end of the week.”
“That’s great,” Nika said. “There are several kids in my classes who are involved in 4-H, and more that live on farms. It might all come together.”
Chief Todd nodded. “It will come together. We’re going to get this bastard. But I need all of you up to the task. Instead of busting each other’s balls—sorry, Nika—use that energy to bring this loser or losers in. I want every single one of those cult nuts back behind bars in short order. No one left on the outside to perpetuate their hate agenda.”
“Yes, sir,” they answered in unison again, and Chief Todd walked out. Rio waited a full ten seconds until he stage-whispered to Nika, “It’s okay if you have a hard-on for your teacher, Nika. It happens to the best of us.” Bryce harrumphed a laugh and Nika gave Rio a lovely hand gesture.
“Why don’t you keep your focus on your girlfriend, Rio? Don’t worry about me. I’m not going to try to jump the chemistry teacher any time soon, trust me.”
Rio winked at her as he left. The door was immediately filled by the SVPD receptionist. “Detective Campbell, Mr. Everlock is here to complete his report.”
Mitch Everlock stepped into the space and filled it with an aura of humor. Was his chest puffed out with more than just muscles? He nodded at Bryce and then shot Nika a shit-eating grin that left no doubt about how long he’d been waiting in the passageway to enter Bryce’s den of teasing.
Mitch had heard enough, enough to think Nika might indeed have the hots for her teacher.
* * *
“Mitch, have a seat.” Bryce motioned at the seat in front of his desk. Nika ignored the heat in her cheeks and sat straighter, trying to appear more professional as Mitch sat next to her. A waft of his unique scent immediately reminded her of the long moments she’d spent underneath him in the science classroom.
“Thanks, Bryce.”
Interesting. Bryce and Mitch had met, and Nika would bet it wasn’t just since the harassment against Mitch started. An air of camaraderie existed between them that she’d only ever experienced with the SVPD. As if they were law-enforcement colleagues.
“You two met earlier today.” Bryce pulled up a file on his screen as he spoke. Mitch’s eyes found hers and she had the ridiculous urge to look away. As if she were some kind of freaking shy schoolgirl.
“Nice to see you again, Nika. Now can you tell me where you keep your weapon while you’re in the school?”
“I could, but you don’t really need to know, do you?” She forced herself to continue to meet those beautiful eyes of his without wavering. Crap, this case was not going to be the piece of cake she’d hoped. Finding the perpetrator of the ugly written threats was only the surface of a much bigger problem. She felt it in her bones. Add her unwelcome and most inconvenient attraction to Mitch and it wasn’t looking pretty.
“Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll figure out where you keep it.” Mitch’s smug smile didn’t have the effect she thought he’d want, as it made her stomach tighten, her awareness of him on overdrive.
“Nika, you know that Mitch is a former Marine, right? Spec Ops, wasn’t it, Mitch?”
“Something like that.” He clammed up.
That’s why he’d responded to the rock so instinctively. He had specialized military training—he wouldn’t have reacted so quickly, so professionally, so damned correctly, when the rock crashed through the window if he hadn’t. He hadn’t mentioned Spec Ops when he’d said he was a Marine veteran.
Nika chewed on her lip, trying to ignore the swell of annoyance that these two men weren’t going to let her in on their shared history. She was certain she’d never been in the station at the same time as he had been—he’d be impossible to miss. He was an attractive single male. Not a lot of them on SVPD, as most of the officers were married, about to be married or at least in a committed relationship.
“Nika, you with us?” Bryce was staring at her. Oh, God, she’d let her mind wander back to the feel of Mitch’s body on top of hers.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Again, she’d let her attraction to Mitch distract her. It wasn’t like her. Not at all.
Bryce nodded. “Thank you. So, Mitch, do you have anything beyond what you already told me the other day? When you got the message written in blood on your fancy chalkboard?”
Mitch shook his head. “No, unfortunately I’m afraid I’ve given you all I remember from that morning. But I did have a hunch today. It’s nothing solid.”
“Go on.” Nika jumped in, ignoring Bryce’s surprised glance. Usually she was the quiet one in the station, the SVPD officer no one expected to ever test boundaries or regulations. Bryce was a detective and technically she was reporting to him for this case. But she was the one in the trenches with Mitch.
“It’s about one of my students. You met her, Nika. Rachel.”
“Yes, the one in your morning class, the one who’s also in the Rainbows?”
“Yeah, that’s her. I can’t pinpoint what she’s said or done
